Country By Country

Country by Country

Although MAP is headquartered in the US with a regional office in Thailand, much of the work MAP conducts is outside of these two countries. MAP has developed a large network of contacts and partners as a result of its efforts over the years. Below is a summary of the kind of work for each country MAP continues to be involved with.

Andaman Islands:

Located off the coast of India, the Andaman Islands are home to the Mangrove Resource Center, established in 2004 and managed by the Coastal Poor Development Action Network India (COPDANET). Although originally focused on tsunami relief work, efforts in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are now directed towards expanding environmental education and awareness through creative enterprises, offering training in mangrove conservation, and providing consultation on other environmental issues related to mangroves and island living.

Australia:

Partnering with the Burnett Mary Regional Group (BMRG) in Queensland, Australia, in 2012, MAP is working to integrate the Marvelous Mangroves curriculum into the regional and national education curricula. Adaptation of the curriculum to the regional circumstances includes rich Aboriginal culture and traditions, as well as the Nylon Zoo, a form of story theater.

Bahamas:

Starting in 2008, MAP has partnered with the Bimini Action Group to oppose tourist development projects that threaten mangroves on Bimini Island, made famous by Ernest Hemingway’s novel “Islands in the Stream.” Development pressures are changing that title to “Islands in the Extreme,” as large-scale marinas , tourist hotels and golf courses threaten the islands unique biodiversity and culture. MAP is also continuing work with the Save the Guana Cay Reef Association, fighting to protect the cay from the devastating pollution of the Baker’s Bay Club, a golf and marina mega-resort.

Bangladesh:

MAP has been working with the Phulbari Action Network, a network of NGOs in Bangladesh, since 2011 to oppose the Phulbari Coal Mine. The mine would threaten the Sundarbans, the largest remaining contiguous tract of mangroves in the world. To date, the open-pit mining operation has been put on hold, and an executive behind the project has recently resigned amidst the protests and strikes. MAP also has involvement with Humanitywatch, a non-profit NGO working “to establish poverty free, environment friendly secular society of equity,” working with local communities living in the Sundarbans. Steps are now being taken to introduce MAP’s Marvelous Mangrove Curriculum into the public schools there.

Belize:

MAP Education Director Martin Keeley and the Southern Environmental Association have worked to introduce the Marvelous Mangroves Curriculum to the national education system. Mr. Keeley has begun to train Belizean educators in how to implement the adapted curriculum, which is to be implemented in 2013.

Brazil:

MAP maintains a formal partnership with two NGOs, Instituto Terramar (Fortaleza, Ceara) and Movimento Cultural Arte Manha (Caravelas, Bahia), to increase the awareness of issues affecting mangroves, such as threats from shrimp farming, and empower community interaction. MAP also remains in communication and collaboration with a network of different organizations and researchers there on specific projects.

Cambodia:

In 1993, MAP lobbied the Cambodian Minister of Fisheries to warn about the dangers of impending shrimp fartm expansion along the coast of Cambodia. With MAP’s timely intervention, the Monister cancelled a $150 million World Bank loan that would have fueled the expansion of shrimp farming along the mangrove coast of Cambodia, With the support and continued management of the aid organization Development and Appropriate Technology (DATe), MAP established the Tonle Sap Community Resource Center. DATe continues to manage the CRC with input from MAP Asia. Over the past several years, MAP Asia has also conducted work on mangrove conservation and coastal community outreach along with the government agency Participatory Management of Coastal Resources (PMCR) in Cambodia.

Cameroon:

In 2003, MAP conducted an In the Hands of Fishers workshop in partnership with the Cameroon Wildlife Society. The IHOF workshop featured he important improved fish smokehouse designed by Dr. Gordon Anjoniona. Because the fish smoking process is the major reason for mangrtove loss in Cameroon, this improved smokehouse design may reduce mangrove loss by 40% if more widely adopted by coastal residents. Out of this IHOF workshop was born the African Mangrove Network (AMN). Abdoulaye Diame, coordinator for the West African Mangrove Network and the West African Association for Marine Environment, currently acts as an advisor to MAP.

Cayman Islands:

The Marvelous Mangroves Curriculum was originally developed in the Caymans in 1998. Martin Keeley, MAP’s Education Director, currently resides there, where the curriculum is being integrated regionally.

China: MAP’s Marvelous Mangroves curriculum was introduced to two provinces in China in 2010, and Education Director Martin Keeley continues to work with educators to adapt and expand its adoption. Jim Enright of MAP Asia has been working to disseminate MAP’s CBEMR workshops since 2012, developing relationships with the Zhanjiang Mangrove National Nature Reserve (ZMNNR) of Guangdong Province and China Mangrove Conservation Network (CMCN) based at Xiamen University, Fujian.

Colombia:

MAP’s efforts in Colombia are focused on the continued dissemination of the Marvelous Mangroves Curriculum, introduced to the English-speaking Colombian Caribbean islands of San Andres and Providencia and adapted for use in Cartagena, Colombia starting in 2011. MAP also continues to collaborate with The Corporation for the Sustainable Development of the Archipelago of San Andres, Old Providencia and Santa Catalina (CORALINA).

Ecuador:

MAP has been involved with direct action and advocacy in Ecuador since 1994. In 1996 MAP purchaeed 10 ha of mangrove wetlands near the village of Santa Today, MAP continues to partner with C-CONDEM, a regional network currently based in Ecuador.

El Salvador:

MAP brought the CBEMR workshop to El Salvador in 2011, and in 2012 the National Ministry of the Environment of El Salvador (MARN), including the Minister of the Environment himself, announced that key elements of CBEMR would be included in the national program for mangrove restoration. MAP continues to provide technical support, planning further restoration efforts with Salvadoran NGO Asociación Mangle and EcoViva after successful rehabilitation of a 100-hectare tract of mangroves known as El Llorón.

Guatemala:

MAP partners with Amigos del Bosque (Friends of the Forest) to adapt and expand the introduction of the Marvelous Mangroves curriculum, first introduced in 2005 by Martin Keeley. MAP has also worked with the Foundation for Ecological Development and Conservation (FUNDAECO) on incorporation of Marvelous Mangroves to curriculum in Livingston. MAP is networking with the Latin Ameroican network RedManglar now based in Guatemala.

Honduras:

MAP has partnered with Committee for the Defense and Development of the Flora and Fauna of the gulf of Fonseca (CODDEFFAGOLF) in Honduras since 1996, working together mainly to oppose destructive expansion of shrimp aquaculture in the Gulf, which was the main threat to the mangroves. In 1997, MAP co-organized with CODDEFFAGOLF and Greenpeace Intl. the momentous international meeting that established the Gulf of Fonseca Declaration against industrial aquaculture, which hassince served as a leading statement against unsustainable shrimp farm expansion. In 2000, the CCRC Centro de Educación y Capacitación Ambiental (Environmental Training and Education Center) was established in San Lorenzo. CODDEFFAGHOLF is the management and organizational partner at this CCRC, and also partnered with MAP to introduce the Marvelous Mangroves curriculum starting in 2003. Jorge Varela, the 1999 Goldfman Envirib=nmental Prize winner and the main coordinator with CODDEFFAGOLF, continues to act as an advisor to MAP on activities in Honduras and Latin America.

India:

MAP has had a long and fruitful history of action and advocacy in India, beginning in 1993, when MAP partnered with the late, renowned Indian activist and former Freedom Fighter Sri Banka Behary Das to oppose shrimp farm development by the powerful industry giant Tata House on Chilika Lagoon. MAP helped advise Sri Das’ NGO, Orissa Krushak Mahasangh in its successful court case to halt plans by Tata to buld a large shrimp farm there. MAP later joined Sri Das in battle to save the lush mangrove sanctuary of Bhitara Kanika along the Orissa coast, which was the site of the largest Olive ridley sea turtle nesting in the world. Over the years, MAP has established partnerships with a number of other NGOs such as the Centre for Research on New International Economic Order (CReNIEO), the Organization for Marine Conservation Awareness and Research (OMCAR), the Coastal Poor Development Action Network (COPDANET), and the Sandhan Foundation. India is also home to three active Community Coastal Resource Centers (CCRCs) in Orissa and Tamil Nadu focused on education and sustainable livelihood training.

Indonesia:

MAP established its second regional office in Indonesia after an In the Hands of Fishers workshop in 2004, helping to set up Ben Brown as MAP’s coordinator there. In 2006, MAP built its first Coastal Community Resource Center at Tiwioho, in North Sulawesi, which MAP turned over to the local NGO and Tiwoho community. Several more CCRCs were built afterewatds in other locations in Indonesia. The focus and activities of these CCRCs range from environmental education to mangrove rehabilitation and management to sustainable livelihood development. MAP has also conducted several workshops in Indonesia and is working to integrate the Marvelous Mangroves curriculum into the national education system, as well as conducting several small-scale mangrove restoration projects there. While maintaining a partnership with MAP, MAP Indonesia, in 2010, become its own independent NGO, working mainly on mangrove restoration and community development.

Kenya:

MAP has been involved in mangrove conservation work in Kenyas since 1996, first setting up an East Africa Conference on Mangroves that took place in Nairobi in partnership with the East African Wild Life Society. Currently, MAP collaborates with the Gazi Women Ecotourism Project, a Community Based Tourism program designed to strengthen the wellbeing of the community while educating travelers about mangroves. Dr. James Gitundu Kairo of the Kenyan Mangrove Research Institute also acts as one of MAP’s current advisors, coordinating rehabilitation of abandoned shrimp farms and degraded mangrove sites. MAP also is working with NGOs and others opposing the building of a new port facility in the mangroves of Lamu.

Malaysia:

MAP has been working with Malaysian NGOs such as CAP and Third World Network against shrimp farm expansion and mangrove loss since 1992. In 1996, MAP helped organize a successful local community protest against illegal shrimp farm expansion on the island of Penang. MAP conducted IHOF and CBEMR workshops in Malaysia, and currently partners with Friends of Mangroves “Sahabat Hutan Bakau” (SHB), an organization dedicated to engaging the local community in protection and rehabilitation of the Kuala Gula mangroves in Perak.

Mexico:

MAP has focused largely on advocacy and action in Mexico, where we have collaborated with the Society of Akumal’s Vital Ecology (SAVE) starting in 1997, working to oppose planned hotel development at Xcacal-Xcacalito Turtle Sanctuary. This work has continued for over a decade, as other development projects have been proposed and similarly canceled due to protests. MAP previously engaged with the Mexican NGO community in 1996 in opposition to the World Bank loans for shrimp farm development, helping to delay and greatly reduce the loan to establish shrimp farming in Mexico.

Myanmar:

Through the MAP Asia office, we network and partner with the Mangrove Service Network (MSN) to expand mangrove rehabilitation and combat climate change. CBEMR workshops and training have been successfully implemented with MSN to restore almost 30 ha of mangroves, overseen by Jim Enright, MAP’s Asia Coordinator.

Nigeria:

MAP maintains a partnership with the Center for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD), a rural-focused NGO working to address issues of environmental destruction, human rights abuse, and underdevelopment in the Niger Delta. The Cross Rivers State in Nigeria is also home to the CCRC Mangrove Resource Center, managed in partnership with the Mangrove Forest Conservation Society of Nigeria. Since 2002, MAP has been working with local NGOs to oppose destructive oil exploration and exploiutation practices, which are ruining large areas of Niger Delta’s mangroves and the lives of millions of Delta residents affected by pollution and loss of their vital wetlands.

Peru:

In the mid-90s, MAP worked with Dr. Jorge Echevarria Flores, a biology professor and activist at the University of Tumbes, located along the northern border of Peru. He was working at the time to save the mangroves found along the estuary of the Tumbes River. One of his project sites involved saving the threatened salt water crocodiles found in the estuary. MAP publicized the issues there in our newsletter, and helped in getting Dr. Echevarria active contacts inLatin America and abroad, where he further publicized his efforts. MAP also helped gain a small grant from Global Green Grants Foundation to help support his conservation efforts.

Senegal:

The African Mangrove Network, a network of African NGOs and CBOs, maintains a partnership with MAP promoting the sustainable management of mangrove forests. The Secretariat, Abdoulaye Diame, acts as an advisor to MAP. He also manages the CCRC Soulom Mangrove Resource Center through the West African Association for Marine Environment (WAAME).

Sri Lanka:

A veritable hotbed of activity, MAP partners with the EMACE and Nagenahiru Foundations to restore mangrove forests in Sri Lanka. MAP Asia has facilitated CBEMR workshops in continued partnership with the Sewalanka Foundation, and worked with the Small Fishers Federation (SFFL) of Chilaw to conduct IHOF workshops and to introduce the Marvelous Mangroves curriculum to educators. SFFL and the EMACE and Nagenahiru Foundations also manage four CCRCs located in Sri Lanka.

Tanzania:

In 1997, MAP helped lead international opposition to plans to establish a 10,000 ha shrimp farm threatening Rufiji Delta’s mangroves and local communitires. MAP had partnered with LEAT (Lawyers Environmental Association of Tanzania) and JET (Journalists Environmental Tanzania) in 1998, successfully halting the project a year later. Betsy A. Beymner-Farris, MAP’s Treasurer, is also conducting research currently in Tanzania.

Thailand:

MAP’s regional office, MAP Asia, is based out of Thailand, where Jim and Ning Enright oversee a wide variety of field projects and workshop facilitations. In collaboration with partnering organizations Naucrates Conservation Biology and Andaman Discoveries, MAP Asia runs Youth Environmental Education programs, empowers natural resource capacity building, develop sustainable livelihoods projects, and partners on four different community-based tourism projects. Other regional partners to MAP Asia include Wetland International-Thailand, PMCR of Cambodia, EMACE and SFFL of Sri Lanka, OMCAR and COPDANET of India, MSN of Burma and advisors Barry Bendall and Pisit Charnsnoh, President and co-founder of the Yadfon Association, who is also a co-founder of MAP.

Timor-Leste:

Established in 2008 with managing partners Grupo Naroman at the SAHE Institute for Liberation, the CCRC Centro Formasaun in Buccoli focuses on Sustainable agriculture, bamboo utilization, women’s development, improved cookstove utilization, and literacy. Richard Gilmore, MAP’s current Secretary, is the CEO for Balibo House Trust, a charity working on economic empowerment in Timor-Leste.

United States:

The USA is home base for MAP, where the international headquarters is located in Port Angeles, WA, which is also the home of MAP’s Executive Director and Cofounder Alfredo Quarto. MAP also maintains a regional office in Seattle to strengthen support for the Question Your Shrimp Campaign. As the central hub of MAP, the US offices maintain and develop networking connections and partnerships, advocate for mangrove restoration and rehabilitation, and educate the public on mangrove forest issues.

US Virgin Islands:

MAP has collaborated with individuals and organizations to assist with the ongoing Virgin Islands Mangrove Cleanup.

Vietnam:

In 2012, MAP and the Cambodian NGO Participatory Management of Coastal Resources (PMCR) joined up with the Centre for Marinelife Conservation and Community Development (MCD) of Vietnam to experience the implementation of a successful community-based sustainable resource management program. MAP also partnered with the Ministry of the Environment and Village Management Committees (VMCs) to study community-based tourism projects.